THE WORLD OF PLANET ERF IS FULL OF SECRET ENEMIES AND HIDDEN CONSPIRACIES THAT THREATEN THE VERY SURVIVAL OF ALL LIVING THINGS.
Only our unlikely heroes Roger Briggs and Mary Maddam hold the key to defeating this evil force: The unborn Dragon Prince Regor, last surviving heir of the Dragon Dynasty and the prophesied savior of Erf.
Follow Roger and Maryâs incredible adventures as they delve deeper than ever before into the unknown mysteries and magical wonders of the Great Forest of Lundun.
There they will find friends and foes in equal measure, some new and some old.
Roger knows that The Dragonâs Egg must be kept safe but to do so he and his friends must brave untold dangers and make it across the fire-blasted Black Heath to the River Tymes and the sanctuary of the fabled Green Witch.
Dragon's Flight is Book 3 in the epic fantasy adventure series from S.R Langley
THE WORLD OF PLANET ERF IS FULL OF SECRET ENEMIES AND HIDDEN CONSPIRACIES THAT THREATEN THE VERY SURVIVAL OF ALL LIVING THINGS.
Only our unlikely heroes Roger Briggs and Mary Maddam hold the key to defeating this evil force: The unborn Dragon Prince Regor, last surviving heir of the Dragon Dynasty and the prophesied savior of Erf.
Follow Roger and Maryâs incredible adventures as they delve deeper than ever before into the unknown mysteries and magical wonders of the Great Forest of Lundun.
There they will find friends and foes in equal measure, some new and some old.
Roger knows that The Dragonâs Egg must be kept safe but to do so he and his friends must brave untold dangers and make it across the fire-blasted Black Heath to the River Tymes and the sanctuary of the fabled Green Witch.
Dragon's Flight is Book 3 in the epic fantasy adventure series from S.R Langley
Mary Maddam was bored but also worried. It had been well over a week now that sheâd been kept in this âhorrible horse-spit-andâ-tellâ as she called it; although, in truth, it really wasnât that horrible at all. It was a clean and orderly hospital, and the nurses in fact were all quite nice.Â
The Matron though, was something else. Matron McCracken was of the âold schoolâ, a real spare the rod and spoil the child sort of tyrant; all strict discipline and total adherence to hospital rules; rules that were always to be immediately obeyed and without any question.Â
But it wasnât the tyrannical Matron or the tedium of the daily routine of the place that was really getting to her. It was the absence of her new best friend Roger. As expected, heâd been discharged from the hospital the day after theyâd both arrived, and she hadnât seen hide or hair of him since.Â
He had managed to visit her just the once though, the day heâd left, just before being picked up by his angry Father, Councilor Briggs. And in those brief minutes Mary had managed to give Roger the Dragonâs Egg â the extremely precious Egg of the, as-yet unhatched, Dragon Prince, Regor Yram. The Egg theyâd just rescued from the Dragonâs Cavern and very nearly died for. Roger had quickly concealed the rock-like Egg within his overnight hospital bag. His bully of a Father had then come storming into the ward, loudly complaining to the agitated nurses.Â
âI'm not having my son mix with this sort of riff-raff.â heâd yelled, âthat ragamuffin, that âMadâ Maddam girl, is a bad influence on my boy. How dare you let her anywhere near him?âÂ
The Ward Sister had hurried over and tried to calm him down the best she could, but by then he was in full swing and there was just no stopping him.
âGet the Matron here at once!â heâd angrily demanded of the Sister. âYou know who I am, donât you? I demand to see the Matron at once, do you hear?â The cowed Sister had then obediently run off to find the Matron.
However, despite his Fatherâs grandstanding histrionics and while heâd been distracted with such, Roger had quietly kissed Mary on the cheek, saying not to worry and had quickly told her, âItâs alright, Mary. Iâll look after Regor and Iâll come back and visit you as soon as I can.â
Mary of course had done her best to ignore the very rude and personal attack on her from Mr. Briggs. Before their wild adventures, into the Bad Wood and the Dragonâs Cave and everything that followed, she would have been a lot more sensitive about it. But she was now made of much sterner stuff, as indeed was the budding young scientist, Roger.Â
Just as Roger was leaving the ward, with Regor now safely hidden in his bag, sheâd clearly heard the unborn baby Dragon telepathically calling out to her. âDonât yous wowwy Marewee, itâll be awwight, pwomise! Iâll look after Wodjer anâ weâll all be backs toogevva soons, okays?â
But with baby Regorâs talking ability still not being fully developed it meant that she had to take extra-special care to work out exactly what he was saying. Mary was still getting used to their new telepathic ability, kicking in whenever they were near the baby dragon. This and other inconceivable abilities had been bestowed to them by the great Sim Sivad through a powerful bond to True-Dragon Magick. But this was just one of the many differences their recent adventures had made.Â
Then all mayhem erupted. Matron McCracken had arrived!
âWhat is the meaning of this?â sheâd bellowed. âThis Maddam girl has caused a great deal of trouble and has led this poor boy astray. He is not to be further infected by her low morals and despicable behavior. Do I make myself clear?â
Then of course the Ward Sister and the Nurses had been given another severe telling off, and all in front of the patients too. Mary then saw Mr. Briggs speaking to Matron McCracken as he left, dragging Roger with him.Â
Mary couldnât quite hear all theyâd said though, just a few words here and there. Matron had said something about âtaking the necessary stepsâ and Mr. Briggs had gruffly replied, âWell, see that you do, Matron. The Special Under Lundun Council is relying on you!â
She briefly wondered what the S.U.L.C. was. âNever heard of that one before!â she thought. But then her Gran had turned up. Mary could see her looking for her through the ward door windows. Then she chuckled to herself. âThatâs a right laugh, me poor olâ Granâs lookinâ across the Ward, tryinâ to find her Ward!â
But then it wasnât funny anymore. Mary saw that two big orderlies had marched up, along with Matron McCracken, who now seemed to be forcefully steering her Gran away from the ward.Â
For a moment Mary couldnât see what was happening at all, but then a few seconds later she heard a loud scream and her Gran then reappeared at the door and stepped briskly into the ward. She brushed herself down and made her way towards Maryâs bed, holding a bag of grapes and waving at her with a big, beaming smile on her round, red and friendly face.
âSorry about that dear,â she said, âseems there was some sort of a mix up as to who I was and whether I was actually allowed to visit. No worries though; itâs all sorted now. That âorrible McCrackers woman seems to have taken ill and those big fellas have wandered off. Oh well!â
And so, the first of Granâs daily visits had taken place, and strangely, no hide or hair of Matron McCracken had been seen in the Ward since. But that had been a week ago and Mary still hadnât heard a word from Roger, or Regor the unborn baby Dragon either. Her Gran, as her only legal family member, had been her sole visitor, and this at least had been of some comfort; despite the fact theyâd both been on edge regarding talking about what had happened that past weekend.Â
Mary wanted to tell her Gran all about her adventures though and actually tell her everything. But she didnât know how to begin. Strangely enough, Grannie Madden had the same problem. But after Mary had been in hospital a few days, her Gran came to the ward, just as sheâd always done, right after lunch, and sat down by her bed. But this time, she didnât start chattering on about the latest doings of Jemima, their pet Parrot or Jerry the Cat, or about her aches and pains and the ointments and potions sheâd been brewing. No, this time she just sat down in silence and then gave Mary a wet kiss on the forehead, and after a few coughs, finally said, âWell, I think itâs time we have a chinwag now, me dearie; some proper talkinâ I means, donât you?â Then she winked at her, sighed, took a big breath and continued, âYes, it's time that we both levels with one another anâ no fibbinâ now, dear, agreed?â
Mary nodded, and Grannie Maddam smiled and then softly said, âNow, me dearie, I knows quite a lot about Dragons, I does, anâ a lot more besides. Lots I knows anâ lots I donât, but I knows a lot more than all these âere daft humdrums put together, anâ thatâs a fact!â She paused, ensuring that Mary was getting her gist. âYou gets me gist now, girl, donâtcha?â She slyly winked.
Mary just nodded, dumbstruck. âWhat?â she thought, âCould her dear, olâ Grannie really know about Dragons and the Under Erf, and everything?â she gasped to herself, looking at her with wide, new-seeing eyes.
âB-b-but Gran, how?â she stammered. âHow do you know? I didnât know anything âbout Dragons myself until last weekend. Anâ I wanted to tell you; tell you everything thatâs happened, but I didnât know where to start.â Then she turned away, she really didnât want to say anything that might hurt her Granâs feelings, but then she pressed on and told her the truth: âAnd, well, I didnât know if youâd believe me anyway! What if you thought I was mad,  j-j-just like â well, just like mum was sâposed to be? Iâm sorry Gran; you wonât think Iâm mad will you; youâll believe me, wonât you?â
âNow, now, me sweet cheeks, donât you fret so,â Gran softly answered, taking one of Maryâs hands in her brown and wrinkled ones. âIf you tells me that you ainât breathinâ no word of a lie to me, then Iâll be doinâ the same fer yous, we agreed, girl?â
Mary just nodded dumbly in agreement.
âWeâre gonna both be hearinâ some strange things that these âere Humdrums have no tiddler-ticklinâ idea of; well most of âem at least. So, weâre agreed, eh? No fibs between us, OK?â Now who wants to go first on tellinâ our tales then?â
âOh Gran!â Mary burst out, nearly in tears, âI do love you so. You go first please.â
âOK, Dearie, Iâll tell yous a wee bit âbout me but then you tells me all oâ yours, alright?â
âAlright Gran, fair enough,â Mary replied. âHow much on Dragons do you know then?âÂ
 âWell, as to how much I knows, thereâs no proper answer to that one, dearie, is there? How longâs a knitted rope, not yet finished. And just how many honey bees makes an hive, eh? Or whatâs the wetter â water or tears?â She then paused and gave a quick look about her to make sure no one was in earshot. âThe straight anâ simple truth of it is, dear â and now youâll have to believe me this time Mary â is that, well ⌠Iâm what they calls around here ⌠a Witch!â
Several seconds went by. Mary just looked at her Gran, her mouth agape like a fresh caught cod. She didnât know what to say. Gran wasnât joking. Mary could tell. She was telling the truth!
âSoâs I can deal with meddling Matrons anâ the likes with a bit oâ the old âinfluenceâ, anâ I can sees through disguises as well, yer know; whatâs a rock anâ whatâs an egg, juss fer instance!âÂ
âYou know about Regor!â Mary gasped incredulously.
âNope, didnât know his name exactly; but nowz I do I sâpose.âÂ
She then squeezed Maryâs hand and brought her voice down to a whisper. âWe Maddams come from a long line of Witches, truth to tell, but I meself âavenât been doinâ much in the olâ Witchinâ game fer some years now. âSpecially not since yer poor mother fell afoul of the Witchery Woes. But even before then. I ainât been what youâd call a real practicing Witch. Least, not since I left the Forest of The Mad Jester, up North. way back when your mum was but a wee little girl.â
âOh, wow Gran! So, do all witches know about the Dragons and the worlds of the Under Erf then?â Mary asked. âIs that how you know about it, coz youâre a Witch?â
âWell, yes and no,â Gran answered. âYou sees, dearie, Witches get educated too yer know; not at Witch school necessarily but educated nonetheless. Some also gets ter specialize. But we all gets to know sumfin of the Under Erf and the Dragons anâ the Core Beasts anâ such. We gets to know even more about the Great Forests and the domains of the Tree Kings too.â
âOh my!â Mary exclaimed. âThatâs wonderful, Gran! But what did you mean when you said about mum getting the Witchinâ Woes, what are they then?â
âWitchery Woes is what we calls âem, dear. A person can sort of get lost in the world of Faerie yer see; they can go to places anâ not find their ways back. Especially if they are so very aggrieved anâ so heart-broke, like your poor Ma was!â
âOh Gran!â was all that Mary could say to that. Despite Granâs willingness to answer so many questions, she now found she had at least three new ones for every old one she had asked. She felt she could burst with so much to ask and so much to take in all at once.
âLook âere, Mary me dear, thereâs a real awful lots I could tell yers but thereâs no rush. Every day youâre in âere Iâll visits and Iâll tell yer more andâ you can do the same, fair enough?â
âFair enough, Gran,â Mary answered, grinning.
âRighto, ducks! Now why donât you tell me your story now, in your own time and in your own way â and from the beginning, eh?â
And so, Mary did just that. She told her everything. Grannie Maddam heard how Mary had that last Saturday accidentally bumped into Roger; escaping from the Cold âArbor Gang across the River Quaggy and into the forbidden Bad Wood. Then later, how brave Roger had been, climbing down to the Dragonâs Cave to save her; and how heâd worked out how to escape the Cave and take her and the precious Egg to the surface.Â
Gran listened quietly and patiently, becoming increasingly enthralled and amazed at her young Granddaughterâs many adventures with her unlikely hero and new friend, Roger Briggs.
âSeems to me this friend of yours is a special sort of boy, Iâd say,â Gran said, as Mary told her all about his daring and courageous journey to rescue her and bring her and the Dragonâs Egg back home safe, against all the odds.
Mary fervently agreed and continued, telling her all about the two evil Fire-Worm Lords of the Core, Lords Morgrave and Morgrim, and their relentless attempts to trap and kill them both, all in order to get hold of the Last Dragonâs Egg.Â
âHmmm, now thatâs very interesting indeed!â Gran muttered, her eyes wide with wonder.
Then Mary explained all about their telepathic powers and their meeting with the old Tree King and the inky Night Imp and the terrible Forest Fire and all about her experiences with Gaia the Great Erf Spirit and everything they had said and done together; as best as she could remember it anyway. It was all pouring out now in a great, breathless gush.
âI see, I see,â Grannie Maddam said, scratching at her chin with a bright gleam in her eye. âSo, you have met the Great Erf Mother too have you, my dear? Now you really have been blessed, my child, yes, yes, very blessed indeed!â
But now Grannie Maddam could see that Mary was looking particularly upset at this point.
âWhat is it, dear, whatâs troubling you?â she asked.
Mary was once again remembering, with a fresh pang of loss and great grief in her heart, the tragic fall of the courageous Night Imp Nimp, standing all alone on the side of Hooters Hill, taunting and teasing and doing his very best to distract the Fire-Worm Lords from catching them.Â
âHe gave his life to save oursâŚâ she said, in a barely audible whisper.
âI understand, dear,â Gran gently murmured, âyou have indeed been blessed with the very best of friends. But donât despair, me girl. Just remembers yer lessons from the Great Erf Mother. The Spirit is eternal after all.â
After a little while, Mary was able to finish her story, telling her last but not least, about the Great Queen of Dragons, Sivam Sivad who they had fondly called Mavis and how she had entrusted them with the last Dragon Egg. She then solemnly told her of how the brave Mavis had fought King Morgrave and then self-combusted. Then she spoke of how she had at last returned to them as a beautiful Dragon Spirit, soaring into the flaming dawn sky with the Dance of the Dragon Souls, whirling all about her.
âOh, it was the most saddest and also most beautiful thing Iâve ever, ever seen Gran!â she sighed, remembering. âAnd after Mavis had sent that brilliant, white flare shooting up into the night sky, well, it was then that the helicopter found us, and we were all saved ⌠and, and ⌠well, here we all are, with a Royal Dragonâs Egg to hatch somehow.â Mary finally finished and sat silent.
âYes, here we are indeedy.â Grannie Maddam muttered. âYou have given me much to think on, Mary, me girl. And I will definitely make some enquiries about your Roger and Regor. We needs ter look out fer each other now. Iâll find out whatâs what anâ whatâs been keeping him from yers fer sure. Iâll gets off now though, but Iâll be back as usual fer tomorrow and weâll talk some more then, OK, dear?â
âOK Gran, and thanks for being here for me ⌠and for believing me!â
âOf course I believes yer, child! Thereâs nothing yerâve told me is of the least surprise to me. Just donât go barking this stuff off to anyone else as they surely wonât believe ya!âÂ
With that Grannie Maddam kissed her and was gone. Mary didnât quite believe her last remark though. But she did look forward to hearing news about Roger and Regor, and of course more about Gran herself too; and maybe even some answers about her poor mum one day.Â
The next day was Friday and Grannie Maddam, much to Maryâs alarm, came a lot later than usual and it was now Mary who could tell that there was something up. As Gran pulled her chair over to the bed, Mary could see she seemed sad and very subdued. She looked tired and old and not at all her usual chirpy self.
âHello, Gran. Itâs your turn now,â Mary burbled to her as cheerfully as she could muster; âI canât wait to hear all about you being a Witch and how you became one, and ⌠and âŚâÂ
Maryâs enthusiasm drained away as she noticed the tears now welling up in her old Granâs eyes. âOh, Gran, what is it? Have you heard something about Roger? Have you found out why he hasnât visited me? Is Regor OK? Is it bad, is that what it is ⌠is that whatâs upsetting you?â
Grannie Maddam silently took her beloved Granddaughterâs hands and held them tightly in hers. Then, with great effort, she finally told her the dreadful news.
âYes, Mary, weâve âad some news anâ itâs not good at all. But itâs not really about Roger or Regor ...a little bird told me whatâs goinâ on there. Roger has been under virtual house arrest anâ thatâs why yous or I âavenât âad a peep from him. Anâ I also think itâs very likely connected.â She now paused, trying to muster up the will to tell her beloved Granddaughter the awful news. âYes, but â well, dearie,â she continued painfully, ââere it is⌠itâs like this, it seems the Local Council Authority âave issued orders for the demolition of our Caravan!â
âOh no! Thatâs terrible. They Canât do that!â Mary cried out, in great alarm.
âYes, b-b-but thatâs not all, Mary, thereâs more Iâm afraid. Now do be brave, dear!â
âOh! Wh-wh-what is it, Gran? What else has happened?âÂ
âWell, well⌠facts is this, they also says that the Social Police Services will be putting me in a Home for the Elderly and the Infirm and at the same time theyâll be taking yous off into custody too, for, for⌠appropriate placement in a Home for Wayward Girls and Orphans!â
There was a stunned silence. Mary lay paralyzed on the bed, shrinking into her pillows in total shock. She couldnât say a thing for several minutes. She gulped and croaked and bit on her lip, trying her hardest not to burst into tears. She knew if she did that then the nurse would notice and if there was much fuss, then the Ward Sister would get involved, and even then, God help them, Matron McCracken. So, she choked back her tears and let her Gran stroke her hair.
Grannie Madden then quietly continued. âI got the nasty letter, all formal anâ official, juss this morning, Maryâ, anâ it says that youâll be sent direct to the Home from the Hospital, as soon as yer well enough and theyâll be cominâ ter take me away too ter put me in a home for the elderly anâ the feeble minded, or some such, this cominâ Monday. Anâ they says thereâs no pets allowed neither!â
Mary sat bolt upright in her bed and flung her arms around her Gran and held on to her for dear life, just as tightly as she could, and then desperately sobbed into her bosom.Â
âThey canât do it, Gran. They canât split us up like that. We just canât let âem do it!â
The third instalment of S R Langley's Dragon's Erf saga sees Roger and Mary still desperately trying to get the unhatched True Dragon Prince, Regor, to Dragon's Nest. It's not just the Dragons of Erf who need Regor to reclaim his throne from the usurper Fire Worms, but the entirety of Erf - Lord Morgrim's plans are to control every being on the planet, gaining him ultimate control. When Grannie Maddam tells Mary that following her release from hospital, she'll be taken into a a children's home, they collude to run away as soon as possible; and they plan to sneak out the day before her transfer to the home. Meanwhile, Roger is trapped in his unhappy home with his parents, neither of whom care about him. He knows he needs to escape, with Regor's Egg (disguised as a pond rock), before his father's nefarious plans have a chance to come to fruition, and he agrees to help Grannie execute the escape. But as they plan to rescue Mary from the hospital, their plans are interrupted when her transfer is bought forward.
Cue a brand new adventure as Grannie, Roger, Regor and Grannie's cat, Jericho race against time to save Mary from the horrors of a children's home. And then even more adventure after that. With old friends and new they tackle old enemies and new dangers, all the while ensuing that Prince Regor is safe in his Egg. When it is revealed that Roger knows his father is working with the dark Magick users, the peril becomes ever more present and much more difficult to evade.
As the series progresses, the themes become ever so slightly more mature - and the story lines become darker, with more of an edge to them. Dragon's Flight is still full of the same humour from the previous two books, though - especially with Regor's voice becoming more and more present with his quirky speech pattern. The content is also slightly more mature, with Grannie Maddam, especially. She's prone to some mild swearing when she's having an outburst or is angry.
We see a little less of the Fire Worms in Dragon's Flight, and with Mavis having exploded in Dragon's Inferno, we finally see more of the scheming Mr Briggs - Roger's father - and more of the Magickal species that populate Erf. It's a breath of fresh air into the series, making it once again, a charming read.
S. A.